Dreams of the Future
by aemelia113
Summary: *strolls in 15 years late with Starbucks* For Marichat May's prompt(s) Age-up Marinette/Chat Noir. Chat gets a glimpse of a future he's always wanted. But is this a dream or a reality yet-to-come? Domestic bliss for my cat son and bug daughter, pure fluff. Oneshot.


A/N: Hello again! Bet you thought I'd never post another Miraculous Ladybug oneshot, huh? You thought WRONG! Anyhow, I got inspired by Marichat May's "Age-up" Marinette and Chat Noir prompts, especially the ones that involved time travel. So, have me cheating at time travel and showing up 15 years late with Starbucks to a themed prompt month. On an unrelated note, I have developed a recent obsession with imthepunchlord lately, especially their fics The Weight of Living and Lucky Fox Paradox. Check them out! As I am not Jeremy Zag or Thomas "Hawkdaddy" Astruc, I don't own ML. Onwards and upwards!

Neither Chat nor Ladybug really knew what the heck the latest akuma was really doing to people. His name, Visionmaster, didn't really give that many clues. That, paired with the victims with gold dust spattered around their eyes collapsed in varying stages of catatonia, made the heroes guess that he made people see some kind of dreams, but they couldn't pin down what _kind_. It wasn't as though the victims could tell them. Their only hints were when a victim would display an emotion in reaction what they saw, but some cried, some nodded enthusiastically, some screamed, some grinned bright as the sun, some even had a progression of different feelings: gasps of horror on the heels of joyful laughter or scoffing.

The Visionmaster himself gave no indication of the nature of his induced hallucinations, merely cackling about showing people "the truth" and responding to Ladybug and Chat's shouted inquiries about what he had done with "Only time will tell!" and a satisfied sneer.

The worst thing about this akuma, though, other than the smugness and the complete lack of knowledge about him, was his _amazing_ marksmanship and reflexes. He could whip a handful of dream dust at people with lightning quick flicks of the wrist that basically never missed their targets and had another round ready to fire before the victim even hit the ground.

Ladybug needed time to call up Lucky Charm and use it, and time was the one thing they didn't have. When Chat saw Visionmaster pull back his arm to throw the dream dust at Ladybug, he didn't hesitate to throw himself in the way of the shot.

Months of working with Ladybug had taught him that if he _could_ dodge, he _should_. If he was hit, that was less help or even another obstacle for her. So, really, he did _try_ to push Ladybug out of the way and get himself out of the line of fire too, but he just wasn't fast enough. The dust caught him in the jaw but exploded into a cloud that floated into his eyes despite how hard he squinched them shut.

The last thing he heard was his partner shouting "CHAT!" in a horrified voice before all was dark and he hit the pavement.

Suddenly, he was in front of a door, key in hand. Bewildered, he looked at his ungloved fingers clutching a key that he didn't recognize and then back to the unfamiliar apartment door. The last thing he remembered was being hit by Visionmaster's dream dust, so that meant he must be in one of the visions. Well, there was no reason not to complete the action he was apparently in the middle of and unlock the door. Maybe dream-him lived here?

Adrien took a bracing breath, mentally preparing himself for anything that could be on the other side of this wooden barrier between him and the unknown. They never did figure out what the visions were, so for all he knew, he was about to walk in on his parents murdered in this fictional apartment, or maybe a surprise party with a bunch of made-up people he didn't know, or maybe even something ridiculous like the characters of Sailor Moon raiding his fridge. Whatever it was, it wasn't real, so he would deal with it and move forward from there until his Lady saved him in the real world.

He stuck the key in the lock, turned it, and placed a hesitant hand on the knob. He twisted the knob slowly and pushed the door open with a snail-paced caution and a slight creak. Seeing nothing immediately in front of him, he stepped through, shut and locked the door behind him, and walked slowly forward. He caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror hanging in the short hall.

At least, he was pretty sure it was him. Just... older. His hair was shorter, buzzed on the sides and longer on top. He had a couple piercings in each ear, and a pair of fashionable black-framed glasses perched on his nose. He glanced down at his outfit and saw that he was wearing some kind of green sweater and white dress shirt with a green-checked bow tie. He looked like a teacher, but a cool teacher. Nice. He'd love to be a physics teacher.

Wait. Older him, looking dressed for his dream job, in an apartment that clearly belonged to him- maybe this was a look at a possible future!

Suddenly he heard a clang and a feminine voice curse once somewhere out in the apartment. Thoughtlessly, he dropped a shoulder bag he hadn't realized he'd been holding and ran down the hall towards the source of the noise. He skidded into a cozy living area-slash-kitchen, searching for the trouble. He saw a dark-haired woman at the stove, her back to him, rubbing her head with her left hand, pot that fit the empty space in the open overhead cabinet resting on its side on the floor. Was this his girlfriend? Rushing over, he scooped it up and placed it on the counter, placing a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder.

"Geez, that must have hurt. Are you okay? Let me see," he said, turning her gently.

His heart stuttered in his chest when he saw her face. Long black hair that gleamed indigo in the light, hanging down almost to her hips. Big beautiful blue eyes, cute button nose dusted with freckles, soft lips quirked in a breathtaking smile directed up at him. She was still adorably smaller than him. She looked at him like he hung the moon, expression full of love. God, she was gorgeous.

"Marinette," he breathed, putting his other hand on her shoulder and drawing her closer.

She laughed at him. "Who else were you expecting to find bumbling around our kitchen trying to make dinner? Alya and Nino are coming over, and Chloe and Lila too. The whole team under one roof again, no trouble bringing us together. I can't believe it's been over a month since we've seen everyone at once without some disaster distracting us. I want everything to be perfect to give them the big news, but I've given myself a concussion just trying to get the first pot out," she sighed.

"Big news?" he echoed, head spinning from all this new information. Team? Disaster?

She gave him a disbelieving look. "Chaton, you do remember that I got the job with Rabanne? So I no longer have to work for your father? When I told you, you literally picked me up and spun me around the room. You knocked over my third favorite lamp and we had to replace it."

"Err- sorry," he apologized. "Feeling a little... strange today. I keep forgetting all kinds of things."

She grinned cheekily and teased, "Okay, amnesia patient. My name is Marinette Agreste and I'm your loving wife. We have two children, Emma and Hugo. I'm a fashion designer, you're a teacher at the best lycee in Paris, and we've been married for almost eight years."

He knew she was poking fun at him, but this was actually really helpful background information. He thought his heart would leap out of his chest in joy and he was grinning so wide his face hurt.

"We're married!" he exclaimed, stomach flipping in excitement. He kissed her forehead and met her eyes again, still beaming. "We have two beautiful children! You're my wife and I'm the happiest man in Paris!"

He laughed, eyes shining, and crushed Marinette in a hug. He was married to Marinette freaking Dupain-Cheng, enchanting, amazing, stunning, wonderful, _Marinette_! They'd been married for eight years and had kids together. He knew without a doubt that they'd be just as awesome and lovely to look at as her. He had his dream job, he had friends that came over for dinner with him and _his wife_ , he lived with his best friend, who he was in love with, and they were _happy_. They were so dang happy. He hoped to God that this was his real future. It was all he'd ever wanted.

She shot him a concerned frown. "Adrien, are you actually okay? Are you still up to picking up the twins from school so I can finish dinner? If not, I can just text everyone and tell them it'll be a little late..."

"No, no!" he rushed to reassure her, in the back of his mind cheering nonstop about this freaking awesome dream life. "I'm a little forgetful, but I feel fine. I can go and get them so you can finish dinner on time. I'm okay, I promise."

Marinette still looked skeptical, but she shrugged and hugged him again before booping him on the nose. "Okay, silly kitty. If you're sure. Just... call me if you feel weird or forget anything really important, like your name or our address, okay?"

"I will," he promised, pecking her on the cheek. "Try not to injure yourself further while I'm gone."

She giggled and yanked him back by the belt, spinning him to face her and twining her arms behind his neck. The expression on her face was smoldering. "You call that a goodbye kiss, Agreste?"

She pulled him down to her level and pressed her lips to his and he reciprocated without hesitation, mouth moving on hers, mentally fist-pumping that he'd somehow tricked this perfect woman into marrying a weird, socially awkward, emotionally clingy kid like him. Maybe he somehow got better as he got older. They broke apart too soon and Marinette's smirk almost made him dive for her lips again.

"How did I ever get so lucky, Princess?"

Her smirk softened into a warm smile. "I'm the lucky one, Adrien. You're in an awfully sweet mood today, not that you aren't always affectionate and borderline sappy. Your cheesy romantic tendencies and sunshine personality are two of the many things I love about you."

"Maybe you can list some of the others for me later," he teased, bumping their noses together.

"Go on, you mangy cat," Marinette snorted. "Our son and daughter are going to wonder if we've decided to leave them at school. Be ready for them to be kinda excitable. I let it slip this morning that Chantal would be coming over tonight and you know how they adore Alya and Nino's daughter. They look up to her even though she's only six months older than them."

"I'll be ready, Princess," he said, squeezing her hand one last time before he left, snatching up his fallen keys and bag.

He fished his phone from it and started fiddling with it. Thank God his password hadn't changed. As he walked down the hall, he searched through his contacts and saw the Durand-Michel Ecole Primaire, which he Googled, locating the address, a short walk from his current location (which he had also Googled and made a note of).

He forced himself to stroll over instead of run, so he didn't look like a lunatic. Future him would probably appreciate that once present him was back in the present. In short order, he was at the steps of the school, and he looked around at the kids who were lingering outside or running down the steps. He hoped the twins would recognize him because he wasn't actually sure what they would look like. Would they have blonde hair like him? Blue eyes like Marinette?

"Papa!" two young voices cried, to his relief.

He was summarily tackled at the knees by two blurs and he laughed as they made contact. When he scooped them up, one in each arm, he got a good look at their faces, and he grinned from ear to ear. They were beautiful. Black silky hair like their mother, big green eyes like his, matching toothy smiles and soft faces that were identical. Emma had her hair up in a ponytail and Hugo had his cut similarly to Adrien's Chat style. Adorable.

He was really glad that they seemed to like him. In the back of his mind, he had worried that he wouldn't be a very good father since he didn't have much in the way of an example. But if how happy his children were to see him was any indication, he was doing okay so far, which was a relief.

"Hello, offspring!" he greeted, hugging them close. "Did you have a good day at school?"

"I did great on my show and tell for science class!" Emma said, tugging on his sweater to grab his attention. "They all thought that weird bug we found in Maman's roof garden was really cool."

"As I expected," Adrien said, kissing her forehead. He looked at Hugo. "And what about you?"

"The teacher did my second favorite book at storytime," he told him a little less exuberantly than his sister, but with a pleased smile nonetheless.

"Good. Are you two ready to go home to Maman?"

"Yeah!" they shouted, wiggling excitedly in his arms. "Let's go!"

He set them down and they each grabbed one of his hands and started running. He let them pull him along with a laugh, stumbling down the sidewalk hunched to their level. They made it back to the apartment building and into the stairwell.

With a grin, he yelled, "Race you up the stairs!"

The twins whooped and rushed up the stairs, him pretending to struggle to catch up so they would win by just a hair. They burst onto their floor and tagged the door to the apartment first, with matching triumphant smiles. Thank goodness because he'd forgotten to write down the apartment number and it would have been embarrassing if a neighbor caught him trying his key in their lock. He let the bouncing youngsters into the apartment and set his bag on the hook by the door properly this time as they bounded down the hall calling for their maman.

He saw them attempting to climb her legs like a jungle gym while she valiantly kept them away from the hot stove while trying to stir a bubbling pot of something that smelled delicious with one hand and sauteeing a pan of chicken and veggies with the other. She looked at him with fond exasperation in her eyes and he smiled, striking a heroic pose and puffing out his chest.

"Never fear, Princess! Chat Noir is here to save you from the vicious Terror Twins!" he called dramatically.

She pretended to swoon like a damsel in distress. "Oh, thank goodness! I think the villains are after my sweet orange chicken."

"They'll never get their hands on it!" he declared, darting forward and scooping them up, throwing them over his shoulders and spinning around, making them laugh helplessly.

"No! We surrender, Chat Noir!" Emma giggled. "Put us down!"

"Okay," he agreed, setting them on the couch. "But for your crimes, you must be punished... with tickles!"

They squirmed and laughter rang through the apartment as he mercilessly wiggled his fingers against their little bellies.

"I think they've had enough, Chat," Marinette chuckled from her place at the stove. "Tell them they can help you with dessert as long as they quit trying to climb me."

He stopped tickling and gave them a fake stern look. "How about it, Terror Twins? Do you repent of your wicked ways and promise to help me with dessert?"

"Yes, Papa," they said breathlessly, wriggling to a sitting position.

He ruffled their hair and straightened their dishevelled clothes, leading them into the kitchen. "Okay, help me get everything we need to make your favorite cookies."

He was glad that they seemed to know where everything was, which saved him from incurring Marinette's suspicion for rummaging through every cabinet for the mixing bowl and ingredients. Marinette helpfully reminded him which recipe card to get out of the box, and with the help of a stool and Adrien's quick reflexes, they managed to keep all most of the ingredients in the bowl. Hugo liked making the measurements and Emma liked the messier parts like cracking the eggs and using the mixer. Eventually, they had the dough rolled into balls of mostly the same size and evenly spaced on a baking sheet. That went in the oven about the same time that Marinette was transferring her various foods into serving dishes. He and the twins cleaned up while she moved the meal to the table and then they helped her set it.

They had just finished setting down the last water glass when there was a knock at the door. Adrien volunteered to get it and opened up to see older Alya and Nino with a pretty little girl about Emma and Hugo's age standing between them. This must be Chantal. She looked more like Nino than Alya with gold eyes and dark hair styled in two braids.

Older Alya had even more red in her hair, which was cropped to her chin, and she was dressed smartly in a skirt and jacket in her signature orange, though it was strange to see her without her usual plaid and jeans. She must have gotten a job as a reporter like she always dreamed.

Nino hadn't changed much, though he was without his ballcap, even still having his headphones around his neck. He still had the same carefree grin, too. The green shell bracelet was new, too.

"Hey, dude," he greeted.

"Nino! Alya! Tiny Lahiffe-Cesaire child!" he responded, smiling. "Good to see you all. Come on in."

Mere moments after Chantal ran off to play with Emma and Hugo in their room, there was another knock at the door, and Adrien skated over to throw it open, forgetting not to be weird in his excitement. He was having friends over to his house for dinner! That hadn't really happened aside from this most recent Christmas.

"Chloe! Lila! Welcome," he said breathlessly. He glanced down at their joined hands and grinned wider.

"Adrien," Chloe greeted brightly. Lila echoed her, and he was so glad to see that things were no longer weird between them after her dishonest flirting attempt.

They were both dressed to the nines and looked basically the same except older. Chloe even still had her sunglasses perched on her head. The comb in her hair was new, though. And it struck him as familiar. He brushed it off as misplaced deja vu. This whole situation was odd, after all. Lila's color scheme had shifted somewhere along the line from orange and red to blue, but it suited her.

He let them in, and pretty soon they were all seated at the table, the kids eating their own plates at the coffee table and in deep conversation about their favorite superheroes. He heard the names Vixenne and Belle Blue thrown around. There were more than just him and Ladybug now? Good. It would be nice to have help with battling evil. He looked forward to meeting these new heroes.

Marinette announced her new job just before they dug in and everyone showered her with warm congratulations.

"Ugh. Glad you finally got out from under the thumb of that lunatic," Chloe scoffed, then shot an apologetic glance at Adrien and grimaced. "Sorry, Adrien. I just- I'm even less willing to forgive Gabriel than Marinette is."

"Um, it's fine. Whatever he did, he probably deserved that," he agreed, puzzled. "There's not really a lot of love lost between us, I guess."

He harbored some resentment towards his father for his distant parenting that was somehow still helicopter parenting, but what had Gabriel done to make every _other_ person at this table hate him judging from the scowls?

"Yeah, well, he can't touch you or your trust fund ever again. I've made sure of that," Lila huffed, fire in her eyes. "I'm not the best lawyer in Europe for nothing."

"Thanks," Adrien said, surprised. Huh. Financially and legally independent had a nice ring to it.

"Yes, well. Anything for a friend, especially one who is my wife's childhood bestie. I had a lot of satisfaction taking that prick apart after he used me. I just wish I'd been able to end Marinette's contract with his company sooner, but that thing was airtight," she pouted.

Chloe laid a hand on Lila's arm. "There was nothing you could have done, love. At least she's free, now."

"To freedom!" Alya called, raising her glass in a toast.

"To freedom," everyone echoed, clinking them together with happy smiles.

Dinner was delicious and the conversation flowed well despite gaps in Adrien's knowledge. At dessert, the kids rejoined them and Lila and Chloe announced that they also had good news.

"We're adopting!" Chloe squealed, clutching Lila's hand and beaming. "Her name is Osanna and she's two. She's coming here from Italy next week! She gets on a plane as soon as we sign the papers."

Everyone gushed about the amazing news while Chloe soaked up the attention and questions and Lila looked on with a soft, proud smile. The kids all talked at once over each other and argued over who would get to hold her first when she came over. All the guests crowded around Chloe's phone to see a picture of her. She was so cute with dark auburn hair and gentle gray eyes. Her nose scrunched with her smile. Adrien couldn't wait to meet her.

Later that night, after everyone went home and the kids were in bed, he lay in bed with Marinette, arms wrapped around her middle and nose buried in her hair. It had been a great evening. He loved everything about this dream too much to really pick a highlight, but hearing Marinette's enchanting voice as she sang their children to sleep was definitely near the top of the list. Adrien almost didn't want to go to sleep because he knew he had limited time here and he wanted to soak it all in and not miss a second of it.

"Mmm, I love you so much, Princess," he murmured against her neck, kissing the skin there drowsily. "I don't say it enough, but I do. You- and our awesome kids, of course- are everything to me. I can't believe I'm this lucky."

"Adrien," she giggled. "You tell me literally all the time that you love me. When we wake up, when we eat breakfast, texting at random points during the day, leaving notes in my lunchbox like such a mom, when I get home, when we're tucking the kids in, when we go to bed... but I love you, too, you goofball. More than words can say. I feel pretty lucky, too."

"Goodnight, Marinette. See you in the morning."

"Goodnight, minou."

Adrien woke the next morning with a smile already on his lips. He groped in the sheets for the warm body he expected to be there and was not disappointed. His hand found Marinette and he tugged her closer, knocking loose a sleepy mumble. He flipped her over and found her face with his hand, drawing her nearer and pressing a sweet kiss to her lips. She let slip a startled squeak but kissed back, tangling her fingers in his hair with the hand that wasn't trapped against his chest.

He opened his eyes and grinned at her startled face, glowing in the early morning sunlight. "Good morning, Princess."

"G- good morning, Chat," she stammered, face flushed an enticing pink.

Wait, something was off about her face... He rubbed her cheek with his claw and that's when it hit him. Her face was young, and he was transformed, which meant that he was no longer in the beautiful dream about the future. He was back in the present, and he had just kissed Marinette for technically the first time. Oops.

He felt his stomach sink to realize that the dream was over, but he tried to tell himself that it just hadn't happened _yet_. He hoped, at least. It would break his heart if he never got to really meet Emma and Hugo.

"Oh, geez! I'm sorry, Princess! I should have asked first. It's just- I didn't realize I'd woken up from the dream dust. I wanted our first kiss to be more romantic than that. Probably on the balcony in the moonlight with flowers and all that," he rambled, blushing furiously.

"It- it's okay, Chat. I've actually been meaning to tell you that I like you for a while now. I'm glad you made the first move or I'm not sure I ever would have found the nerve," she confessed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear nervously. Her brow furrowed. "Wait. If you only kissed me out of the blue because you thought you were still dreaming, what were you dreaming about?"

He fidgeted and avoided her gaze. "Chat," she drawled warningly.

"Okay!" He broke, sighing. "I was dreaming about us- our future... together."

"What was it like?" she asked, curious, propping herself up on one elbow to better look into his eyes.

"We were older and had been married for eight years. We had a cute apartment, you had a new job at this big fashion house, and I was a physics teacher. We had two beautiful kids- twins- Emma and Hugo. They had your hair and my eyes, and, God, they were _beautiful_ , Princess, just like you. You invited Als and Nino over for dinner with their daughter, and Chloe and Lila, too, and it was just- just _perfect-_ and we were so _happy_ and I almost want to go back except I'd rather have the real you in front of me..." he babbled.

Marinette had happy tears in her eyes. "That- that's _amazing_ , Chaton, and I can't wait to make it come true. Not sure I can guarantee twins, but that all sounds wonderful, and if that's our real future, I'd be overjoyed."

"Really?" he choked. "You want a future with me?"

"Yes," she said simply, vehemently. "I'd love to wake up next to you every morning."

His ears were burning. "Me too, Princess. So... what now?"

"Now?" she echoed, grinning, as she shifted to lower her mouth to his for another toe-tingling kiss. "Now we make the future happen."

Two weeks later, still walking on air from the fact that Marinette Dupain-Cheng was his secret girlfriend and likely future wife, Adrien was approached at a sprint by an out of breath Nino. Nino coughed violently, hands on his knees, struggling to reclaim his breath.

"What's up, Nino?"

"DUDE," his friend wheezed, "you're never gonna believe this."

"What?"

"Okay, so you remember a couple weeks ago when that akuma who put people into visions about the future attacked?"

"Yeah, go on."

"Well, I got hit, and I saw some things, man. And last night, _it all came true._ "

Adrien's heart fluttered, hope giving it wings. "Bro! No way! Tell me _everything._ "

"So, in the future vision, I was DJing at this amazing secret club I've only ever heard rumors about, and Alya was there, and when I dedicated a song to my girlfriend, like a note on my hand said to, she winked and blew a kiss at me. Well, last week, she asked me out and we officially started dating- you remember. And then yesterday, out of the blue, I get asked to do a gig, and I think it's some small time house party, right? Otherwise I totally would have invited you. But I invited Alya anyway because she said she wanted to see me do my thing, and then it turned out to be that secret underground club thing. It was like deja vu when I looked down at my hand and realized that it was all happening just like it did in the dream! Same song, same people in the crowd, everything! So that means that anything people saw with the dream dust is probably true, right?"

Adrien's mind was whirling and a dopey grin spread across his face. The future was real. He was a father, and a good one. He got to marry Marinette. All of his friends were making families and doing what they loved, and it was going to be amazing.

"Adrien!" Nino called like it wasn't the first time he'd said his friend's name. "You still with me, buddy? Did you get hit with future dust? What did you see?"

"I've gotta propose to Marinette," he mumbled distractedly.

" _Dude, what."_

"Uh," he gulped, realizing that he'd said that out loud, "I think I saw a lot further into the future than you did. And, um, congrats in advance, by the way."

Adrien took off, wanting to find Marinette immediately, and he heard Nino shouting behind him, "Congratulations for what?! Come on, dude, seriously tell me. Congratulations for what?!"

Adrien ran around, shouting her name until he found her. He skidded to a halt in front of Marinette, grinning, and took her hands. She gazed at him, mouth hanging open in shock as he lifted one and pressed her knuckles to his lips.

"Princess," he purred in a low voice, delighting in the blush that bloomed in her cheeks at the way he said her nickname. "We have a lot to talk about."


End file.
